When Luisa Cullum tells people where she lives, she has to spell it out for them: Georgia like the state, O’Keefe (misspelled with one “f”), and Tree Lane.
In addition to being misspelled, it is awkward and too long for a road name, she said.
“If it’s named after Georgia O’Keeffe the artist, it should be spelled the way her name is spelled,” Cullum said.
It is one of several oddly named roads in La Plata County.
Others include Popkorn, which was named after a clown; Bear Scat Trail, which actually had a lot of bear poo on it; Chunkey Monkey Street, also misspelled; Bad Mule Road; Deer Lick Circle; and Mountain Dew Street.
Some names hint at the condition of a road – for example, Mud Lane, Broken Wheel Drive and Rough Rider Road.
Some road names are out of this world: Earthship Landing, Mars Avenue, Quasar Street and Galaxy Drive.
The most famous oddity when it comes to local street names probably is Florida Road, which takes the Spanish pronunciation, making it Flo-RI-da.
It has been said that developers tend to name their subdivisions after whatever natural feature they destroy. If that is true, say goodbye to Valley Meadows, High Meadows, Orchard Hills, Pine Acres, Enchanted Forest, Scenic Heights and River Valley.
Sundance Hills subdivision, between Elmore’s Corner and Gem Village, is named after the 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” which was filmed largely in the Durango area. Every road in the subdivision has a film reference, including Baby Doe Drive, Belle Starr Drive, Cody Road, Derby Drive, Etta Place, Rail Road and Rain Drop Drive.
A scene involving a boxcar explosion was filmed where the subdivision is located.
“It’s a lot of fun, and it’s a little whimsical,” said Joanne Spina, who lives on Etta Place. “I’ve had a lot of people comment on Etta’s Place, and it’s fun to say, ‘Yeah, it ties back to the movie.’”
The misspelling of Georgia O’Keefe Tree Lane apparently originated with the U.S. Postal Service, Cullum said. If someone searches it on Mapquest or other search engines, they’ll need to misspell it to find it, she said.
The name is rooted in a dead ponderosa pine at the end of the road that must have reminded the developer of a Georgia O’Keeffe painting, she said. The tree since has fallen down and been removed, but Cullum keeps a charcoal drawing and a painting of the tree in her house.
“There was just an old, dead tree with this hole in the top,” she said.
The subdivision is named Sailing Hawks Over Animas Mountain, or Sailing Hawks for short. Cullum said it was developed by Richard Korns, a former English professor at Fort Lewis College, who now is dead. Cullum believes the English professor was a little too poetic when naming the subdivision and roads.
She tried to shorten Georgia O’Keeffe Tree Lane by making a sign that read “O’Keeffe Lane,” but it wasn’t an official effort, and it didn’t catch on.
“I carry printed labels with our name and address so I don’t have to spell it out for everybody,” Cullum said. “I would much prefer a shorter address.”
The Georgia O’Keeffe conundrum seems minor compared with roads in Bayfield.
The address system relies on a grid that has been in use since the 1980s.
The center of the grid is at the Eight Corners intersection, where County Road 501 crosses U.S. Highway 160. Many roads that cross the imaginary X axis or Y axis of the grid have directional names to indicate which side of the line the road is on. But the town also named some of its roads after directions, such as East and North. So in Bayfield, it is possible to live on east East Drive and west North Street, among others.
A lot of people think Buck Highway (County Road 521), which runs between Bayfield and Ignacio, refers to deer that can be seen along the way. But one source said it actually refers to an Indian chief by the same name.
A kingdom of animals native to this area are used in road names, including Beaver Circle, Baby Bear Road, Bobcat Lane, Cat Creek, Chipmunk Circle, Cougar Way, Coyote Court, Deer Trail, Eagle Drive, Elk Road, Falcon Way, Grouse Point, Hawks Meadow Drive, Hummingbird Lane, Jack Rabbit Trail, Kokanee Lane, Moose Lane, Raccoon Road, Rattlesnake Drive, Raven Ridge, Squirrel Drive and Turkey Trail, among others.
(Every letter of the alphabet is represented when it comes to road names in La Plata County, so anyone wanting to play the alphabet game can do so.)
Developers can submit requests to name roads in their subdivisions, and as long as they’re not confusing or an exact duplicate of another name, they generally are approved, said Linda Moore, who works in the La Plata County GIS department.
Developers generally want roads in their subdivisions to sound appealing to prospective homebuyers, said Greg Hoch, director of community development for the city of Durango.
But that doesn’t always happen.
Years ago, a county official asked a resident what he wanted to name his road because it had only two homes on it. He chose Popkorn, which was his clown name.
The clown has moved on, but Nym Mendias now lives on Popkorn about 10 miles south of Farmington Hill just north of Bondad.
She learned of the story about seven years ago when she wrote a check to a man who turned out to be the clown. The story was verified when she wrote another check at J.C. Penney, and the woman claimed to be Popkorn’s daughter.
“It’s kind of neat that we are able to learn the history of our street name,” Mendias said. “I kind of wish I had seen Popkorn in action.”
Margot Armstrong has lived on Bear Scat Trail for 16 years. The name accurately described the condition of her road until a few years ago when hundreds of trees were removed for fire prevention. There aren’t as many bears now, she said.
“There used to be a lot of scat on the road,” Armstrong said.
She has no desire to change the name.
“I love it,” she said. “It’s very appropriate.”
shane@durangoherald.com
